Hungary and coal

The collapse of the Soviet Union forced a dramatic restructuring of the Hunagarian coal industry. Many of the smaller underground mines have closed while others were privatized. Approximately 90% of coal production is brown coal and lignite. The remaining coal mining is closely tied to coal-fired power generation. The International Energy Agency projects that domestic coal production will decline from 3.5 million tonnes in 2004 to approximately 2.52 million tonnes in 2020. Any future expansion in coal-fired generation would be based on imported coal.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that "brown coal and lignite were mined, for the most part, to fuel the country’s thermal electric power stations. In 2005, the output of lignite declined by 4% compared with that of 2004; brown coal output declined by almost 43%. The output of bituminous coal ceased owing to exhaustion of reserves".

Lignite from the Bukkabrany and the Visonta Mines is used in the Matra Power Station. The output of another mine, which is subsidized by the Hungarian government, supplies the Vertes Power Station. The European Commission noted in 2005 that an additional "six minor open cast mines serving local markets."

Energy Policy
Hungarian energy supply is dominated by a reliance on imports of gas and oil from Russia. For example, 80% of Hungary's gas is imported from Gazprom. With both domestic gas and oil production having peaked, dependence on imports is set to increase. The largest single contributor to Hungary electricity grid comes from the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies approximately one-third of the country's power. While the four units of the power station were scheduled for decommissioning between 2012 and 2017, in 2005 the Hungarian government decided to extend the life of the plant for another 20 years and expand the output of the station by 8% to 2040 megawatts. The Paks power station is owned and operated by the government-owned utility, MVM. MVN is the sole buyer and seller of electricity in Hungary.

In a review of Hungarian energy policy, the International Energy Agency stated that "in the area of primary energy production, the substitution of coal by natural gas and renewable energy sources will proceed, including the closure of underground mines." However, it anticipates that the construction of new power stations based on imported coal is "likely".

The IEA also noted that while Hungary made a commitment to the European Union to generate 3.6% of its electricity from renewable power by 2010, it exceeded this target in 2005.

Proposed Coal-Fired Power Stations

 * Matra Power Station, is a coal fired co-generation plant proposed by Matrai Erömu, which is majority-owned by RWE and the the Hungarian Electricity Works, to have an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts. However, RWE does not list the project as being amongst its "power plant new-build" list. On its website RWE states that "the company operates an 800 MW lignite-fired power plant that is supplied with coal from two opencast mines. Matra is Hungary’s second largest power producer and extracts half of the country's lignite." It also stated that in late 2006 and early 2007 two topping gas turbines (TGT) were commissioned at the plant which "have raised the capacity of the connected power plant units by some 10 per cent."

Europe and coal

 * Austria and coal
 * Belgium and coal
 * Bulgaria and coal
 * Europe and coal
 * France and coal
 * Germany and coal
 * Greece and coal
 * Italy and coal
 * Netherlands and coal
 * Norway and coal
 * Poland and coal
 * Slovakia and coal
 * United Kingdom and coal

Background information

 * International Energy Agency, "Coal in Hungary in 2005", International Energy Agency website, accessed July 2008.
 * International Energy Agency, "Hungary", International Energy Agency website, accessed July 2008.
 * International Energy Agency, Hungary: 2006 Review, International Energy Agency, 2007.
 * U.S. Geological Survey, Hungary 2000-2005
 * European Environment Agency, European Pollutant Emission Register. (This has a list of power stations and their current emissions).